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I am a veteran Delphi 6 programmer transitioning to C# development. My first project is a open source library that will have a minimal user interface since it is meant to be used as a Component primarily on desktop PCs running Visual Studio. My next project is going to be a Windows 8 phone app and I intend for that platform to be my primary focus for future C# development, not the desktop.

My concern is that I waste as little time as possible learning a presentation framework that will benefit or distract me from writing Windows 8 phone apps. The plethora of framework names I have already encountered include, WinForms, WPF (Windows Presentation Framework), Silverlight, Silverlight Mobile, Metro and there may be others.

Given my goal outlined in the first paragraph above, which is the correct framework to study for developing Windows 8 phone apps?

I read about the Portable Library Tools on this Stack Overflow thread:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5522355/windows-phone-7-wpf-sharing-a-codebase

But the reply by Simon Guindon seemed to indicate to me that it's not the best solution for writing a competitive Windows 8 phone app.

Community
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Robert Oschler
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    Questions about what technology to learn next and also questions requesting learning materials or tutorials are off topic on Programmers. If you have more specific questions about specific frameworks that you have in mind then please post back. For more information read the [FAQ](http://programmers.stackexchange.com/faq) – maple_shaft Nov 05 '12 at 02:00
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    @maple_shaft. It is my understanding that the sentiment you are imposing is correct for Stack Oveflow but not here; that this site was created to support those kinds of questions since SO does not: http://programmers.stackexchange.com/search?q=tutorials – Robert Oschler Nov 05 '12 at 04:05
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    You are correct that the site was originally created with the intention of these kinds of questions in mind, but shortly after inception the site went through a major scope change. Questions about tutorials or resources on canonical questions or questions that are highly common don't benefit the site or the internet at large, as a quick google search will come up with pages of valid results. More specialized technologies are more appropriate or questions that evoke quality answers with explanations rather than everybody posting their favorite tool/book/tutorial with no context. – maple_shaft Nov 05 '12 at 12:48
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    See the following links: http://meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/a/2666/25476 and http://meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/1749/are-getting-started-with-questions-constructive – maple_shaft Nov 05 '12 at 12:48
  • +1 But I expect the question may be closed, unfortunately. – MarkJ Nov 05 '12 at 15:34
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    @maple_shaft- Personal opinion of course but I think the keyword "tutorials" and the semantics of "what tech should I learn next" from the FAQs are being applied too literally here. If my question was strictly of that nature then I would understand your desire to close, but my question at its heart is a very technical and rather specific question about which UI interface library is the correct one out of a confusing plethora of choices. That's not quite the same query as a novice user wondering what to do next with the general topic of programming. – Robert Oschler Nov 05 '12 at 16:48
  • You could reword it to make it "compliant", but perhaps people could just answer where they think each of the WP technologies now fit and if any are now obsolete. I'm as baffled as the next man and I installed the SDK at the weekend. – Ian Nov 05 '12 at 17:06
  • @Ian - It looks like Rachel was kind enough to do that editing already. – Robert Oschler Nov 05 '12 at 17:55

2 Answers2

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You probably won't use Windows Forms anymore for Windows 8 development.

Try VS 2012. Check: visual-studio-express-for-windows-phone. Quote from that page:

"Windows Phone SDK provides Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone and the assets to build epic apps faster using what you know. Use .NET to build your apps or take full advantage of the platform for your games with DirectX/C++. .NET apps and games can reuse their business logic across Windows 8, the web (ASP.NET), and Windows Azure so developers can move faster."

A Microsoft (free) book that may help you know more about Windows 8 development is at: Programming MS Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I am not sure about the free part it may have restrictions or the offer may have expired.

Glorfindel
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NoChance
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Few things I do know from this weekend:

1) You need Visual Studio 2012.

2) You need Windows 8.

This is the list of project templates you get with the Windows Phone 8 SDK installed:

VS2012 templates for WinPhone 8 development

That's from a post I made at the weekend. It's not a complete answer I know, but I'm still feeling around the edges, so I'd be glad of some more input from others too.

Ian
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    Quite a good write up here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/05/windows_phone_8_sdk/ – Ian Nov 06 '12 at 10:09